


Working Through (and around) the Tension

by intergalacticpanic



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Getting Together, I'm just testing out writing after years doing nothing lol, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Odo in denial, Romantic Tension, Sexual Tension, Touch-Starved Quark, help me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 09:19:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12454302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intergalacticpanic/pseuds/intergalacticpanic
Summary: Everyone knew that Odo looked at Quark, and that he'd looked at him for many years in many different ways.





	Working Through (and around) the Tension

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here I am. Finally posting something, somewhere. :) I haven't done any writing for... 3 years maybe? So this is me shaking off the rust, so sorry for any mistakes. 
> 
> Thanks to my pal Linnea for encouraging me to do this! Lol I'm nervous, but here we go!

Everyone knew that Odo looked at Quark, and that he'd looked at him for many years in many different ways. Of course, the most common gaze the Constable bestowed upon the Ferengi was a disapproving glare; sometimes backed up by seething remark or an exasperated grunt when the situation called for one. Occasionally his stare was professionally neutral and cold, and occasionally it was warm- other times it was rather heated and almost molten.

Each and every gaze was different, and yet the same. Always Odo watching Quark, keeping him in sight,ready to intervene at the foremost opportunity. This was never up for questioning.

One of these manners in which Odo looked at Quark had taken place that very morning, another in the afternoon, a third that evening.

Recently things had been surprisingly peaceful between the chief of security and the Ferengi bartender. They still bickered, bantered and threw insults at each other often enough; it was what began to take place immediately after that was an addition to their usual dynamic. Nowadays as an argument came to a relative ceasefire, Odo might linger for an odd thirty seconds, or Quark's smug lift of his lips might make him look like a man who was far too happy to be arguing in the name of his credibility. The changes were not exactly drastic but nevertheless, a lot of tension was being created that seemed to build with the passing of time.

The tension was hardly something that could go unnoticed by a man as observant as Odo, especially when it had a tendency to instill a dizzy feeling within him that he didn't have any control over. Odo almost felt like a terran trying to control a very large and unruly canine on a very makeshift leash. It was indeed very disconcerting.

This morning was like any other morning: in which he made his way to the bar with the intention to check on Quark for the good of the masses and most certainly not for familiarity. That was not the thought that flickered out of his subconscious and into his waking mind as he made his way towards the bar, knowing that Quark was kneeling behind it to search for something from the array of energetic hums of a Ferengi at work.

Except, this morning was different in that Quark's head popped up from behind the bar while Odo was still only beginning his journey over to him. That created a critical, everlasting ten seconds of pure eye contact in which neither party blinked, hesitated nor acknowledged anything outside of one another. A fire started in Odo's mind as he became flustered, burning up any of the clarity in his mind that allowed him to focus on an average day.. The constable, ever the professional, managed to put the fire out and gathered up the remnants of the witty remark he was going to begin the conversation with.

Quark smiled, albeit looking a little wary.

Odo started the conversation with an involuntary grunt instead.

"So what's the problem Odo, on what account are you going to be harassing me today?" Quark began under the pretense of being exasperated, "I don't take you for a morning drinker, so I doubt you're here to part with any latinum."

Quark tilted his chin up, watching Odo earnestly; lips pressed together in a small, indulgent smile. Odo thought that his company was too outwardly happy for a Ferengi who wasn't about to make any profit off of his back- which in turn made him nervous and suspicious because he'd be damned if he would entertain the thought that Quark was simply happy to see him! Clinging to the latter emotion, he folded his arms tightly and utilised his glare of disapproval.

"Even if I possessed the need and desire to drink, I wouldn't do it here. Now, the problem is that there are no leads on what grimy business you might be doing today, and I want to know why that is." If he had added a few inches to his height in order to make his looming more intimidating, Quark didn't seem to notice. He too folded his arms impatiently, before spreading them in a wide gesture of innocence towards the end of his exclamation of,

"Would you believe that even I need a break now and again? Keeps the old creative juices flowing when you rest now and then. You know, so that I can be ready to conjure up more dastardly plans under your nose starting the next day. That sort of thing."

Odo harrumphed, disbelieving. Quark hummed in satisfaction at having made Odo make the noise, shooting him a smug smile. It was much too affectionate for Odo to form an extended verbal response to, so he settled for a agitated grumble of Quark's name. The whole thing made it troublesome for Odo to reason with himself that they only talked to each other because they hated each other. Odo supposed that was Quark's plan. He then supposed he should remind Quark that they did in fact, hate each other, and that he wouldn't be fooled so easily; so he leaned into Quark's personal space and snapped testily,

"Quite frankly, I couldn't care less about your personal life or your decisions, so long as they remain firmly within the parameters of legality. But I don't trust criminals, and so you will be under my careful surveillance as usual. Now, if you would excuse me, my business is done here and I don't want to waste anymore time on you than I need to."

Satisfied that he had made his point and that the strange tension was gone, Odo returned to the promenade, the ten seconds between the bar and the doorway going by much more rapidly now that his steps had become large purposeful strides. Quark whipped his head from the left to the right, glancing over the bar with a meek and wide eyed look of shock.

—————

In the afternoon the constable skipped his rounds at the bar (that particular day he had instead surveyed the area every few hours whilst in the form of a small rodent), instead choosing to pass the entryway to the establishment with as few strides of his humanoid form as possible. A minute hesitation on his part allowed Quark to call across to him, asking for his attention. Stance tall and brow furrowed Odo looked on, as Quark tentatively approached him with an empty tray. The expression Odo then adopted was so level that it was impossible to detect the real anxiety he'd started to feel at the hands of the scene that was about to unfold. So internally focused was he that he'd neglected to notice that his company was holding his tray to his chest, not unlike a shield. Perhaps upon noticing this minor detail, Odo might have allowed a little of his guilt that he now felt to shine through in his demeanor. Instead, he was craggy and carefully diluted, which Quark felt was a lot worse than the Odo who would gleen at the chance to irritate him.

"So. Two minutes behind schedule huh." Fingers drummed against the back of the tray,"Check the time if you don't believe me"

Odo blinked twice and remained stoic.

"Yes, it seems that everyone is insistent on taking up my time today."

Quark blinked twice in return, seemingly hurt for a moment before taking a step closer to the changeling, despite his intentions being to let Odo leave.

"Oh, I see."

Odo huffed and both fell silent, eyeing each other in apprehension like wounded creatures.

"I really must be going-"

"Well, don't let me stop you-"

The constable retreated a pace, then another. Quark looked at him hopefully, holding his gaze. Odo felt a current writhing in his midsection in response to the strange tenderness of that look on his face. He nodded dumbly, all but a little panicked, and turned away to make his escape. Quark watched him go for the second time.

—————

"Thank you, thank you. I'm a very diligent man when it comes to matters of my bar." Using the best charming bartender smile that he had in his arsenal, Quark knew he could get the occasional customer to purchase a slightly more costly beverage for the next few rounds when he put his mind to it. He had been hoping that this would be the case for the young human engineer sitting in front of him as he seemed pretty mild and easy enough to win over with words, so Quark closed in.

As he was about to suggest something a little stronger and higher up the price range, his pitch was cancelled out by the appearance of the stations resident changeling, who Quark also knew to be the most awkward changeling in the vast expanse of space. He smirked as he thought about this in spite of the manner in which their last meeting ended, before frowning again, trying to pull himself together and concentrate. He was not about to cast aside the present opportunity to a profit of a little extra latinum for Odo's sake. Especially since Odo had had the nerve to tell him that he was wasting his time, when in fact Odo was the one about to waste Quark's time. Naturally, Quark became irritable.

"Not right now Odo, sorry to 'waste' your time again, but I'm busy. Try again tomorrow morning." Quark called across to him, eyes narrowed in warning. The changeling crossed over to him and ignored all protests of 'no, no, leave me alone!'

"I have come to alert you to a growing tension between us." Odo said hurriedly, glaring a hole through Quark's forehead so that he didn't have to meet his eyes. 

"What?" Quark's eyes widened, searching Odo's face for something that might indicate he was about to break into a smile and say 'gotcha'. But Odo looked positively concerned, and so Quark suddenly had the upper hand.

"Tension, Quark. We have tension. You're making me feel tense."

"I'm pretty sure I have always made you feel tense. Tends to me a side effect of constantly arguing." Quark pointed out helpfully.

Odo looked at him pointedly.

Quark's confidence flooded back into him, realising that Odo must be so oblivious if he is nervous about how Quark feels. Quark, ever the resourceful individual, decided to make use of his skill at being melodramatic.

Creating a show of studying the back of his hand, he sighed softly. For a moment he looked hesitant, glancing about as if he might change the topic, before he steeled himself admirably, tackling the situation head on and just hope for the outcome that he had in mind. He looked up at Odo with a piqued interest, so much so that he didn't mind when his customers vacated from the seats in the immediate area around him and Odo.

"So you noticed."

"Of course I did. It was… very hard not to, as time went by." Odo seemed interested! Some stray thought in Quark's head screamed at him to grab Odo's wrist, or fingers, or just to lay a hand on him in some manner. It flickered quietly at the back of his mental space. Quark blinked and pressed his front against the side of the bar. 

"So how do you propose we go about solving this… tension." The eager bartender leant further forward, greedy to advance towards the conclusion of wherever the conversation was taking them after finally, finally getting Odo to acknowledge their relationship. Quark meant it as an invitation, and ensured he that he packaged it in an obvious, disgustingly pink envelope that was plastered on hearts that screamed his feelings about Odo by giving the man a pointed waggle of a brow ridge. Just for good measure. Odo scoffed, although his midsection felt like a tidal pool had formed inside it, making it hard to step forward and rise to Quark's proposition. But then an evil, all-or-nothing idea bloomed from the bottom of his mind, and Odo loved nothing more than a chance to tease the man who was currently leaning two thirds of his body over a bar just in response to his presence. Quark's body was speaking a language to him all on its own, and it helped a smug confidence to flare up inside of him. So, he let the Ferengi know that he would meet with him after closing hours to pursue this exciting and new dimension of their relationship that was about to develop (because really, he must always remain professional when on the job) and took his leave, already feeling the uncomfortable tension flowing away from him and taking a much more content note. Quark slammed a palm down onto the counter and cursed him,visibly shrinking at the loss of Odo, who had smiled to himself as he made his way to his office, which then grew to a wholehearted smirk by the time he sat down and picked up a padd.

—————

Quark panted softly, lying flat on his back. With some effort he opened his bleary eyes and turned his head to look to his left at Odo- who lay on the bed beside him, appearing much more put together than Quark felt with his own palms braced on his thighs, shaking just slightly. He blinked to focus his stare on the changeling, who gazed back at him silently. For a moment Quark thought he might leave him, but instead Odo produced a blanket from his forearm and draped it over his chest.

It was then that they discovered that Quark was a glutton for physical contact, what with his clinging to Odo's arms and his feet nudging at his legs, finding points of contact everywhere he could. When Odo hummed his permission it didn't take long for Quark to realise that he wouldn't be able to sit on the same piece of furniture as the constable without brushing up against him in contact in some way. 

"Nice." Quark said awkwardly in response to the blanket, touched by the whole thing. Odo smiled nonetheless, tilting his head in a gesture to the part of him forming the material.

"Comes in handy now and again."

"Goo blanket." Quark felt so exhausted, was so satiated, that his eyes closed of their own accord. He turned to face Odo properly, so that Odo could wrap his blanket-arm completely around him. His breaths came much more slowly now, puffing from between his lips and out against the ones that hovered an inch or two away, belonging to Odo. Odo enjoyed the sensation, as it was rhythmic and lapping, not unlike waves licking the sands of a shore.

Just mere minutes ago, when he had been digging his fingers into the arms Odo had pinned either side of him, whilst the changeling had been so completely focused on Quark's pleasure that his gaze became molten, unyielding and burning, Quark had forced his eyes open to look at Odo while Odo was looking at him. At that moment, Quark had felt a strong urge to pull Odo down to him and nuzzle his makeshift nose. He decided that despite being late, Odo's nose was still a nose to be nuzzled. Smiling at his bedmate who indulgently lifted the corners of his mouth, unsuspecting, Quark pressed his nose to Odo's, nuzzling against him. He reduced the pressure after a few movements and there was a pause before Odo reciprocated with a simple nuzzle to the nose and cheek. Both were positively glowing, with the developments that had taken place in that room in just an hour.

Thankful for how comfortable he now felt, Quark sighed deeply into what was Odo's approximation of a collarbone before settling in for a nap with his head on his companion's pillow. He felt Odo shift closer to him, and smiled through a yawn

"You were right, I never have a day off. You should never trust me."

"If you're talking about the deal you arranged concerning the illegal merchandise in cargo bay four then I regret to inform you that you no longer have anything to sell, it was seized at fourteen hundred hours."

"Oh."

**Author's Note:**

> And that's that, folks. I'm really nervous about sharing stuff I write so please just be gentle when wording any comments, I'd be so grateful.
> 
> Again, thanks to Linnea for the encouragement, I would not have had an inkling of the confidence I needed to post anything, hence me never having an account until now. I appreciate it! Hopefully this will give me the confidence to continue to share my work from now on. <3
> 
> If you have the time, please let me know how this was!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
